One good example is the love of the game. I love great athletes. It doesn’t matter if it’s Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, Billy Jean King, John Elway or Seabiscuit. It’s not the sport any more than it’s the religion. That is to say, it’s the goodness they bring to the table, the heart of a champion, the will, the power and the love of their game. In the same way, it’s not the denomination, but the love of the Lord, the searching, the yearning to stand in His shadow. Everyone stands in the prelude of faith, so to speak, no matter how deep or penetrating the devotion and conviction may be, we are all somewhere on the learning curve.

Actually, Seabiscuit is the best example. Great strength and stamina, the will to win, competitive on a razor edge, focused and directed as if spent by God. Yet meek and humble enough to be trained, controlled and driven by a more powerful source than his own. The horse was not beaten into submission, but willing follow the lead of his master. The riding crop did not beat the horse to victory, it was his signal, it heralded the moment, the mystical moment had arrived, now break to the open lane and run like the wind. Seabiscuit responded, of course he did, this was the moment his life had prepared him for; reckless abandonment and prefect planning were one in the same. The trophy was not for certain but the victory was.

So it is in this spirit I bring the good news to you. The love of the Lord, the deposit of the Faith, fully given, richly rewarded. One Christ without division or confusion; one breath fully alive; a mission without end; one unique moment just like each unique moment which came before it and each moment which followed it. One God One Religion.